Ho Chi Minh City on Wednesday broke ground on a VND36.7 trillion (US$1.39 billion) metro line that will tunnel beneath the Saigon River, anchoring a transit corridor designed to eventually link with Long Thanh International Airport.
The roughly 6-km Ben Thanh-Thu Thiem line is among major works launched to mark the 51st anniversary of national reunification on April 30. It will be built under a public-private partnership using a build-transfer contract, with Dai Quang Minh Real Estate Investment JSC, a member of Vietnamese conglomerate Thaco, as the investor.
Running entirely underground, the line will start at Ben Thanh station beneath the city's iconic central market, follow Ham Nghi Street through the central business district, dive under the Saigon River and re-emerge in Thu Thiem, HCMC's planned financial and commercial center on the river's east bank.
From there it will track along Mai Chi Tho Boulevard to its terminus in Binh Trung Ward. Six underground stations will serve the route: Ham Nghi, To Huu, Cung Thieu Nhi (Children's Palace), Benh Vien Quoc Te (International Hospital), Binh Khanh and Thu Thiem.
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The Thu Thiem station construction site of the Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem metro line in Ho Chi Minh City, April 28, 2026. Photo by VnExpress/Quynh Tran
The most demanding engineering challenge is the river crossing. According to Tran Ba Duong, board chairman of Thaco, Ham Nghi station will be built roughly 33 meters underground, making it the deepest in Ho Chi Minh City, to provide the clearance needed for the tunnels passing beneath the Saigon River. The existing Ben Thanh station, currently the deepest in the city, sits at 32 meters underground.
Trains will run on fully automated GoA4 technology, the highest grade of train automation, which allows trains to operate without onboard staff. The project is also being designed with a strong push toward localizing construction, rolling stock manufacturing and specialized equipment production.
The Thu Thiem terminus will integrate with the central station of the planned Hanoi - Ho Chi Minh City high-speed railway and connect to the future Thu Thiem - Long Thanh metro line, forming a strategic transport hub linking urban metro, national rail and the international airport.
The April 29 launch is part of metro line 2, which will exceed 62 km when fully built. The Ben Thanh - Tham Luong section is already under construction, and a future extension will continue to northwest Cu Chi. The full Tham Luong - Ben Thanh - Thu Thiem axis is targeted for completion in 2030.
